Utensil with wavy head

ABSTRACT

A utensil includes an elongate handle and a head. The head has a non-planar configuration such that different regions of the head can be used to mix, fold, stir, spread, lift, or otherwise manipulate food. The head includes a wavy portion with a transverse profile that varies along a length of the head.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/303,621 filed Feb. 11, 2010. Thisprovisional application is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The invention relates generally to utensils. More particularly, theinvention relates to utensils for use in the culinary field.

2. Description of the Related Art

Spatulas and spoons are commonly used to mix ingredients. Someconventional spatulas have a flat rubber blade for scraping ingredientsoff surfaces (e.g., an inner surface of a bowl) and for mixingingredients. Unfortunately, conventional spatulas and spoons are oftenunsuitable for effectively mixing ingredients. Folding is one techniquefor mixing ingredients with different densities. For some recipes, eggswhites are beaten to produce whipped egg whites. The whipped egg whitesare then incorporated into a denser batter by folding the whipped eggwhites into the batter. It may be difficult to scoop up the dense batterto fold the batter about the whipped eggs using a flat spatula. Spoonsare typically not used to fold batters because it is difficult to evenlyfold dense batters with a spoon.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Some embodiments are directed to a utensil with a non-planar head thatenhances mixing, beating, scraping, lifting, spreading, or otherwisemanipulating food. The non-planar head, in some embodiments, can moreeffectively fold ingredients as compared to conventional flat bladespatulas. The non-planar head can have a serpentine or wave shapedprofile. Different regions of the profile can be used to performdifferent functions, such as scooping, spreading, pouring, or the like.In certain embodiments, a concave surface defines a channel that can beused to scoop up and hold a batter. An adjacent convex surface can beused to spread the batter over, for example, whipped egg whites. In thismanner, different regions of the non-planar head can be used to performa wide range of different types of functions. The utensil can be held atdifferent orientations and manipulated (e.g., twisted, rotated, etc.) toperform those functions.

In some embodiments, a spatula comprises an elongate handle and a head.The head has a longitudinal axis and includes a proximal, upper portioncoupled to the elongate handle and a wavy, distal, lower portion thatdefines a lower end of the head. The wavy lower portion includes a firstarcuate portion and a second arcuate portion. The head, in someembodiments, has a twisted configuration.

The first arcuate portion, in some embodiments, extends from the upperportion to the lower end of the head. The first arcuate portion includesa first free edge extending longitudinally along the head and a firstconcave surface on a back side of the head. The first concave surfaceextends along most of a first distance from the first free edge to thelongitudinal axis. The second arcuate portion extends from the upperportion to the lower end of the head. The second arcuate portionincludes a second free edge extending longitudinally along the head anda second concave surface on a front side of the head. The second surfaceextends along most of a second distance from the second free edge to thelongitudinal axis.

In other embodiments, a spatula comprises an elongate handle and a head.The head includes a wavy portion. The wavy portion includes a tip and atransverse profile with an amplitude that increases towards the tip. Incertain embodiments, the wavy portion has a smooth convex surface and anadjacent smooth concave surface. The convex surface and concave surfacecan cooperate to define a generally sinusoidal shaped face. The concavesurface defines a channel suitable for holding flowable materials (forexample, wet ingredients, batters, or the like). The head can be rotatedsuch that flowable materials held in the channel can flow across theconvex surface. The convex surface can spread flowable materials acrossother ingredients, across cooking surfaces, or the like.

In yet other embodiments, a spatula comprises a handle and a headcoupled to the handle. The head comprises a forwardly concave surfaceand a rearwardly concave surface. The forwardly concave surface definesa first channel on a front side of the head. The first channel extendsacross most of a first distance between a longitudinal axis of the headand a first side edge of the head. The rearwardly concave surfacedefines a second channel on a back side of the head. The second channelextends across most of a second distance between the longitudinal axisof the head and a second side edge of the head. The second side edge isopposite the first side edge.

In some embodiments, a spatula head has a wave shaped profile tofacilitate, for example, folding batter. The head can be used to scoopbatter to increase the amount of batter being lifted and folded ascompared to conventional flat blade spatulas. The orientation of thehead can be adjusted to provide different types of lifting action. Incertain embodiments, the head can be used to cut through batters. Thehead can be passed through the low density ingredient (e.g., beaten eggwhites) lengthwise to position the head underneath the low densityingredient. The head can then scoop up and fold the dense batter overthe low density ingredient. The curved faces can result in a rollingeffect to increase the amount of material that is folded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments are described with referenceto the following drawings. The same reference numerals refer to likeparts or acts throughout the various views, unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a spatula, in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the spatula of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a left side of the spatula of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a head of the spatula of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the head of FIG. 4 taken along aline 5-5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the head taken along a line 6-6 ofFIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the head taken along a line7-7 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the head of FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the head taken along a line 9-9 ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of a head of a spatula passing through aflowable material.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the head of the spatula of FIG. 10 passingthrough a flowable material.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a spatula.

FIGS. 13-15 are bottom views of spatula heads with differentconfigurations.

FIG. 16 is an isometric view of a head of a spatula, in accordance withone embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a front elevational view of a head of the spatula of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the head taken along a line 18-18in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the head taken along a line 19-19of FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the head taken along a line 20-20.

FIG. 21 is a bottom view of the head of FIG. 17.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the head taken along a line 22-22of FIG. 17.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present detailed description is generally directed to utensils andmethods of using the utensils in the culinary fields. Embodimentsdisclosed herein can be utensils used to prepare food, such as batters,baking mixes, dough, or the like, and/or used to cook or prepare food(e.g., lift food from cooking surfaces). Utensils can be in the form ofspatulas, spoons, or other types of instruments used in the culinaryfield. Many specific details of certain embodiments are set forth in thefollowing description and in FIGS. 1-22 to provide a thoroughunderstanding of such embodiments. One skilled in the art, however, willunderstand that the embodiments may have additional features and may bepracticed without one or more of the details described in the followingdescription.

FIG. 1 shows a utensil in the form of a spatula 100. The spatula 100includes an elongate handle 110 and a head 120. A user can manually gripthe elongate handle 110 to mix, beat, scrape, lift, spread, or otherwisemanipulate foodstuff. The illustrated head 120 has a wavy configuration(e.g., a configuration that curves alternatingly in opposite directions)and is well suited for mixing different types of ingredients usingfolding techniques.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the elongate handle 110 includes an upperend 130, a lower end 140, and a handle main body 150. The handle mainbody 150 gradually tapers inwardly from the upper end 130 toward thelower end 140. In other embodiments, the main body 150 has a generallyuniform cross-section along a longitudinal axis 153 of the spatula 100.For example, the handle main body 150 can be a rod or other type ofcylindrical member. The elongate handle 110 can be straight (illustratedin FIGS. 1-3), curved, or combinations thereof (e.g., a handle with bothcurved and linear sections), and can have a one-piece construction or amulti-piece construction. Thus, a wide range of different types ofhandles can be utilized.

The lower end 140 of the elongate handle 110 and the head 120 can form anecked down region 160, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The lower end 140 maybe integrally formed with the head 120 to prevent separation of theelongate handle 110 and the head 120. In one-piece embodiments, the head120 and the lower end 140 can be monolithically formed via a moldingprocess, including an injection molding process, a compression moldingprocess, an overmolding process, or the like. In multi-pieceembodiments, the head 120 can be removably coupled to the elongatehandle 110 and can be replaced with another head. A wide range ofdifferent types of couplers (e.g., fasteners, screws, snaps, locks, orthe like) and/or adhesives can couple the elongate handle 110 to thehead 120. In some multi-piece embodiments, the head 120 is permanentlycoupled to the elongate handle 110.

The head 120 includes an upper portion 200 and a lower portion 220. Theupper portion 200 is coupled to the lower end 140 of the handle 110. Asshown in FIG. 1, the upper portion 200 has a generally planarconfiguration, and the lower portion 220 has a non-planar configuration.The non-planar configuration can be a wavy configuration (illustrated inFIG. 1), a sinusoidal configuration, a serpentine configuration,combinations thereof, or another configuration having one or moreconcave regions, convex regions, channels, ridges, crests, waveformshapes, or the like.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1-3, the lower portion 220 includes afirst arcuate portion 230 and an adjacent second arcuate portion 240.The arcuate portions 230, 240 cooperate to form a front surface or face244 and a rear surface or face 246. The first and second arcuateportions 230, 240 also define longitudinally extending free edges 260,270, respectively.

The front surface 244 and the rear surface 246 can be relatively smoothsurfaces with complementary shapes, such that the head 120 has athickness t along its width W. In different embodiments, the head 120can have a generally uniform or a variable thickness t across its widthW. The illustrated front surface 244 includes a forwardly convex surface273 and a forwardly concave surface 282 laterally adjacent to theforwardly convex surface 273. The rear surface 246 includes a rearwardlyconcave surface 280 (see FIG. 9) opposite the forwardly convex surface273 and a rearwardly convex surface 275 (see FIG. 8) opposite theforwardly concave surface 282. The concave surfaces 280, 282 can be usedfor scooping food, while the convex surfaces 273, 275 can be used tospread food. In some embodiments, including the illustrated embodiment,the convex surface 273 and concave surface 282 cooperate to form agenerally sinusoidal shape.

The edges 260, 270 are rounded. The head 120 can thus be movedlengthwise through a mixture of ingredients without significantlydamaging the mixture, even if the mixture comprises a delicatesubstance, such as fluffy, whipped egg whites. Alternatively, the edges260, 270 can be relatively sharp for scraping or flipping food. Theshapes and configurations of the edges 260, 270 can be selected based onthe desired use of the spatula 100.

As shown in FIG. 4, the head 120 has a generally rectangular shape andextends laterally outward from the elongate handle 110. The edges 260,270 are generally parallel to one another, and a lower edge 276 extendsbetween the edges 260, 270. Alternatively, the head 120 can have agenerally square shape (including a rounded square shape), an ellipticalshape, a circular shape, or other suitable shape for utensils.

Referring to FIGS. 4-8, the first arcuate portion 230 is concave withrespect to the backside and has the first concave surface 280 and thefirst convex surface 273. The second arcuate portion 240 is concave withrespect to the front side and has the second concave surface 282 and thesecond convex surface 275. The concave surfaces 280, 282 can begenerally similar to each other. The convex surfaces 273, 275 can alsobe generally similar to each other. Accordingly, the description of onesurface applies equally to the other, unless indicated otherwise.

The surfaces 280, 273 of FIGS. 6-8 extend along most of a first distanceD₁ (see FIG. 4) from the edge 260 to a longitudinal axis 278 of the head120. The longitudinal axis 278 can be collinear with or parallel to thelongitudinal axis 153 of the spatula 100. In some embodiments, thesurfaces 280, 273 extend along at least 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of thedistance D₁. The illustrated surfaces 280, 273 extend acrosssubstantially all of the distance D₁.

In some embodiments, including the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 8, thesurfaces 280, 273 have partially circular shapes. A radius of curvatureR, for example, can be less than or equal to about 0.5 inch, 1 inch, 2inches, 3 inches, 5 inches, 10 inches, or the like. In certainembodiments, the radius of curvature R is greater than or equal to thedistance D₁. In other embodiments, the radius of curvature R is greaterthan or equal to a distance D₃ (i.e., the width of the head 120) fromthe edge 260 to the edge 270. In yet other embodiments, the radius ofcurvature is greater than the thickness t of the first arcuate portion230.

Referring to FIGS. 6-8, the lower portion 220 has a generally sinusoidaltransverse cross-section that is taken perpendicularly to thelongitudinal axis 278. The amplitude of the sinusoidal cross-sectionincreases towards the free end 277 of the head 120. Thus, the amplitudeof the sinusoidal transverse profile proximate to the upper portion 200is less than the amplitude of the sinusoidal transverse profile definedby the lower edge 276.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the surface 282 defines a channel 330on the front side of the head 120. The surface 280 defines a channel 300on the back side of the head 120. Both channels 300, 330 have dimensionsthat vary along the longitudinal axis 278 of the head 120. In someembodiments, the channels 300, 330 have upper ends at least proximate toor extending along the upper portion 200 and have widths and depths thatvary along the longitudinal axis 278.

FIG. 6 shows the shape of the upper ends of the channels 300, 330. Thedepths of the channels 300, 330 gradually increase with respect to thelongitudinal axis 278 towards the end 277. Each channel 300, 330 canhave a maximum depth that is larger than half the maximum thickness t ofthe lower portion 220. The maximum depths can be at the centerline ofthe channels 300, 330, or any other suitable location depending on theshape of the channel. Both channels 300, 330 extend along most of alongitudinal length L (see FIGS. 1 and 3) of the head 120. This allowsfood to be scooped up and to collect easily along most of the length Lof the head 120.

As used herein, the term “channel” is a broad term that includes agroove, trough, or other type of feature or depression capable ofreceiving and/or holding a substance. In some non-limiting embodiments,a channel has a generally U-shaped cross-section, V-shapedcross-section, partially elliptical cross-section, or combinationsthereof. The illustrated channel 330 of FIGS. 6-8 has a shallow U-shapedprofile. The channel 330 has a generally uniform transverse shape alongits longitudinal length. In other embodiments, one portion of thechannel 300 can have one profile, and another portion of the channel 330has a different profile. Such variable profile channels are well suitedfor holding different amounts of material at different locations alongthe channel. The channel 330 of FIG. 9 has a shallow region 350 thatslopes from the upper portion 200 to a relatively deep region 360. Thedepth D of the channel 330 thus varies along the length L of the channel330.

FIG. 10 shows the head 120 travelling lengthwise in a directionindicated by an arrow 362 through a material M. The rotationallysymmetric head 120 can be moved in the opposite direction as indicatedby an arrow 363 to achieve the same type of action. If the material M isa flowable material (e.g., a liquid batter, a liquid mix, etc.), thehead 120 can pass through the material M and maintain a substantiallylaminar flow. If the horizontally oriented head 120 in FIG. 10 is movedvertically, the channel 330 can help capture or retain the material M onthe upper face 244 of the head 120.

The head 120 can be oriented generally perpendicular to the direction oftravel to push material. FIG. 11 shows the vertically oriented head 120moving in a direction indicated by the arrow 364 to push the material M.

The spatula 100 can be used to mix (e.g., combine, incorporate, etc.)different ingredients, including ingredients having significantlydifferent characteristics. In some embodiments, ingredients withdifferent densities are folded, mixed, and/or beaten together. In somemethods of folding, a container (e.g., mixing bowl) can hold both lightingredients (e.g., beaten egg whites) and heavy ingredients. The head120 is moved across the middle of the bowl to cut through both the lightand heavy ingredients, reaching a position near or against a lowerregion of the mixing bowl. The head 120 is then moved towards the bottomof the bowl and then across the bottom towards an opposing side of thebowl. The head 120 lifts and folds the heavy ingredients over the lightingredients. One of the channels 300, 330 can scoop up the heavyingredients during the lifting process. As the head 120 is turned, theheavy ingredients can be moved along the adjacent convex surface 273,275, to gently spread the heavy ingredients over the light ingredients.The folding action, in some embodiments, allows the light ingredients tomove towards the bottom of the bowl to replace the heavy ingredients onthe bottom. In this manner, regions of the head 120 with differentgeometries can be used to perform different functions.

The bowl can be rotated 90 degrees for each fold so that the head 120cuts across different sections of the ingredients. Because of therotational symmetry, the head 120 can be moved lengthwise in eitherdirection by either a left-handed or right-handed user. The foldingprocess can be repeated any number of times until the desiredconsistency is achieved. Advantageously, the spatula 100 can be used toquickly fold whipped egg whites into relatively dense heavy batterswithout appreciably reducing the volume of whipped egg whites, therebyproducing a light, airy batter. A wide range of different types ofconventional folding techniques can be used with the spatula 100.

The spatula 100 can be suitable for contacting surfaces at a wide rangeof temperatures. The head 120, for example, can comprise a temperatureresistant material suitable for contacting surfaces at extremely hightemperatures and can thus be used to scrap, lift, or otherwise move foodalong hot surfaces, with little or substantially no damage to the head120. Such a high-temperature spatula 100 can be made, in whole or inpart, of one or more polymers or plastics having a melt temperatureequal to or greater than about 200° F., 300° F., 400° F. 500° F., 550°F., 600° F., or 650° F., as well as other melt temperatures greater thanthe temperature of a cooking surface. In some embodiments, the head 120comprises silicone or other type of polymer with a melt temperature ofat least about 625° F. and is well suited for flipping or lifting foodfrom a grill or frying pan. A compliant head 120 can deform such that itcan be easily slid underneath food. The head 120, in some embodiments,is made of a low temperature resistant material suitable for contactingsurfaces at lower temperatures. Low-temperature heads 120 are especiallywell suited for mixing batters and may be made of relatively inexpensivematerials.

The head 120 can have a multi-piece construction. FIGS. 4-7 show themulti-piece head 120 with an outer main body 410 surrounding a stiffener412. The outer main body 410 can be made of a compliant material(polymer or plastic material) and the inner member 412 can be made of agenerally rigid material, such as metal, a rigid plastic, compositematerial, or the like. Any number of stiffeners 412 can be positionedinside of the head 120. In other embodiments, the head 120 comprises asingle material, including, without limitation, polymers, plastics,natural materials (e.g., wood), metal (coated or uncoated), or the like.

For convenient storage, the elongate handle 110 includes an aperture.Referring to FIG. 12, an aperture 154 extends through the handle 110.The spatula 100 can hang from hooks, loops, or other types of featuresusing the aperture 154. In other embodiments, the handle 110 isapertureless.

FIGS. 13-15 show different profiles of heads. The profiles are takengenerally perpendicularly to longitudinal axes of the heads. FIG. 13shows a generally serpentine profile. FIG. 14 shows a generally S-shapedprofile. Such an embodiment is especially well suited for scooping andretaining material within deep channels 300, 330. The deep U-shapedchannels 300, 330 can easily receive and carry batters. The head 120 canbe slowly rotated counterclockwise about a longitudinal axis 278 suchthat the material flows along the convex surface 273 and out of thechannel 330. FIG. 15 shows three elongate segments 440, 442, 444connected by arcuate segments 456, 458. The arcuate segment 456 isbetween the elongate segments 440, 442. The arcuate segment 458 isbetween the elongate segments 442, 444. Other types of configurationscan also be used.

FIG. 16 shows a head with a shallow S-shaped configuration. U-shapedchannels 506, 508 are especially well suited for scooping and retainingmaterial. The width of the head 510 is larger than the head 120discussed in connection with FIGS. 1-15. As such, the head 510 can beused to lift, fold, and/or mix relatively large amounts of wetingredients.

Referring to FIGS. 17-21, the channels 506, 508 are relatively shallowas compared to the channels 300, 330. The thickness t of the head 510 isrelatively large compared to the head 120 to provide a generally rigidhead capable of withstanding relatively large forces. The head 510 canfold batters with a higher density than the batters used with the head120.

The utensils discussed herein are discussed in the context of spatulas.In other embodiments, the wavy configurations and heads can be part ofspoons. In some embodiments, a utensil in the form of a spoon has a wavyhead. Thus, the features and components discussed herein can be modifiedfor different types of utensils.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. These and other changes can be made to theembodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, inthe following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limitthe claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specificationand the claims, but should be construed to include all possibleembodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by thedisclosure.

1. A spatula comprising: an elongate handle; and a head having alongitudinal axis and including an upper portion coupled to the elongatehandle and a wavy lower portion defining a lower end of the head, thewavy lower portion including: a first arcuate portion extending from theupper portion to the lower end of the head, the first arcuate portionincluding a first free edge extending longitudinally along the head anda first concave surface on a back side of the head, the first concavesurface extending along most of a first distance from the first freeedge to the longitudinal axis; and a second arcuate portion extendingfrom the upper portion to the lower end of the head, the second arcuateportion including a second free edge extending longitudinally along thehead and a second concave surface on a front side of the head, thesecond concave surface extending along most of a second distance fromthe second free edge to the longitudinal axis.
 2. The spatula of claim1, wherein the upper portion is substantially planar and the wavy lowerportion has a sinusoidal shaped cross-section with an amplitude thatvaries with respect to the longitudinal axis.
 3. The spatula of claim 1,wherein at least one of the first concave surface and the second concavesurface defines a channel that extends longitudinally along most of alongitudinal length of the head.
 4. The spatula of claim 3, wherein thechannel has a depth that increases towards the lower end of the head. 5.The spatula of claim 3, further comprising a main body of the headhaving a front face, a rear face, and a thickness defined from the frontface to the back face, the channel having a maximum depth that is largerthan half of the thickness of the main body of the head.
 6. The spatulaof claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the wavy lower portion has asubstantially S-shaped cross-sectional profile that is takenperpendicularly to the longitudinal axis.
 7. The spatula of claim 1,wherein the first arcuate portion and the second arcuate portion aresubstantially rotationally symmetric about the longitudinal axis.
 8. Thespatula of claim 1, wherein the wavy lower portion has a lower edgeextending between the first free edge and the second free edge, thelower edge has a substantially sinusoidal shape as viewed along thelongitudinal axis of the head.
 9. A spatula comprising: an elongatehandle; and a head including an upper portion coupled to the elongatehandle and a wavy lower portion, the wavy lower portion including a tipand a transverse profile with an amplitude that increases towards thetip.
 10. The spatula of claim 9, wherein the wavy lower portionincludes: a first arcuate portion extending away from a longitudinalaxis of the head in a first direction, the first arcuate portionincluding a first free edge extending longitudinally along the head anda first concave surface on a back side of the head, the first surfaceextending along most of a first distance from the first free edge to thelongitudinal axis; and a second arcuate portion extending away from thelongitudinal axis of the head in a second direction, the seconddirection being generally opposite to the first direction, the secondarcuate portion including a second free edge extending longitudinallyalong the head and a second concave surface on a front side of the head,the second surface extending along most of a second distance from thesecond free edge to the longitudinal axis.
 11. The spatula of claim 10,wherein at least one of the first concave surface and the second concavesurface has a radius of curvature at the tip that is larger than adistance between the first and second free edges of the head.
 12. Thespatula of claim 10, wherein at least one of the first concave surfaceand the second concave surface has a radius of curvature that graduallyincreases towards the tip.
 13. The spatula of claim 9, wherein the wavylower portion has a front face and rear face that define a substantiallyuniform thickness across a width of the head.
 14. The spatula of claim9, wherein the wavy lower portion includes channels on opposite sides ofthe head that have depths that vary with respect to a long axis of thehead.
 15. The spatula of claim 9, wherein the tip has a sinusoidal edgethat extends between opposing longitudinally extending side edges of thehead.
 16. The spatula of claim 9, wherein the head has a wavy front faceand a wavy back face, the wavy front face and back face havecomplementary shapes.
 17. The spatula of claim 9, wherein the headincludes a front face and rear face, the front face includes a forwardlyconvex surface, a forwardly concave surface laterally adjacent to theforwardly convex surface, the rear face includes a rearwardly concavesurface opposite the forwardly convex surface and a rearwardly convexsurface opposite the forwardly concave surface.
 18. A spatulacomprising: a handle; and a head coupled to the handle, the headcomprising a forwardly concave surface defining a first channel on afront side of the head, the first channel extending across most of afirst distance between a longitudinal axis of the head and a first sideedge of the head; and a rearwardly concave surface defining a secondchannel on a back side of the head, the second channel extending acrossmost of a second distance between the longitudinal axis of the head anda second side edge of the head located opposite the first side edge. 19.The spatula of claim 18, wherein the head has a generally S-shapedtransverse profile.
 20. The spatula of claim 18, wherein at least one ofthe first channel and the second channel has at least one of asubstantially U-shaped profile and a substantially V-shaped profile.